Tennessee Johnson (1942)

Director:

William Dieterle

Writers:

Milton Gunzburg (story) and
Alvin Meyers (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

December 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Impeachment | Tennessee | U.S. President | 1860s | Self Made Man

Cast

Van Heflin	...	Andrew Johnson
Lionel Barrymore	...	Thaddeus Stevens
Ruth Hussey	...	Eliza McCardle Johnson
Marjorie Main	...	Mrs. Maude Fisher
Regis Toomey	...	Blackstone McDaniel
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Coke
Grant Withers	...	Mordecai Milligan
Alec Craig	...	Sam Andrews
Charles Dingle	...	Senator Jim Waters
Carl Benton Reid	...	Congressman Hargrove
Russell Hicks	...	Lincoln's Emissary
Noah Beery	...	Sheriff Cass (as Noah Beery Sr.)
Robert Warwick	...	Major Crooks
Montagu Love	...	Chief Justice Chase
Lloyd Corrigan	...	Mr. Secretary
William Farnum	...	Senator Huyler
Charles Trowbridge	...	Lansbury
Lynne Carver	...	Martha Lincoln
Russell Simpson	...	Kirby
Morris Ankrum	...	Jefferson Davis
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Alexander	...	Wounded Man (uncredited)
Michael Audley	...	Wounded Man (uncredited)
Frank Austin	...	Man in Shop (uncredited)
Walter Baldwin	...	Captain Reporting Shooting (uncredited)
Roy Barcroft	...	Officer on Crutches (uncredited)
Louise Beavers	...	Addie (uncredited)
Arthur Belasco	...	Demonstrator / Farmer (uncredited)
Harlan Briggs	...	Senator (uncredited)
Sonny Bupp	...	Bellboy (uncredited)
Frederick Burton	...	Senator (uncredited)
George M. Carleton	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Anna Chandler	...	Woman in Balcony (uncredited)
Cliff Clark	...	Delegate with Badge (uncredited)
Dane Clark	...	Wirts (uncredited)
Davison Clark	...	Senator (uncredited)
Harry Cording	...	Captain McGruder (uncredited)
Jeff Corey	...	Captain (uncredited)
Jules Cowles	...	Senate Spectator (uncredited)
Mark Daniels	...	John Hay (uncredited)
William B. Davidson	...	Vice President Breckenridge (uncredited)
Jim Davis	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Frank Dawson	...	Senator (uncredited)
Robert Dudley	...	Man in Shop (uncredited)
Paul Everton	...	Man in Lobby (uncredited)
Christian J. Frank	...	Farmer (uncredited)
Albert Godderis	...	Man (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Gibson Gowland	...	Senator (uncredited)
Jesse Graves	...	White House Servant (uncredited)
Harrison Greene	...	General Grant (uncredited)
Frank Hagney	...	Heckler (uncredited)
Richard Hall	...	Andy (uncredited)
John Hamilton	...	State Chairman (uncredited)
Tom Herbert	...	Lang (uncredited)
Herbert Heyes	...	Senator (uncredited)
Al Hill	...	Heckler (uncredited)
Harry Holman	...	Morley (uncredited)
Harry Humphrey	...	Court Clerk (uncredited)
Brandon Hurst	...	Senator (uncredited)
Roger Imhof	...	Hannibal Hamlin (uncredited)
John Ince	...	Farmer (uncredited)
Bob Ingersoll	...	Farmer (uncredited)
Lloyd Ingraham	...	Vice President at End (uncredited)
Gladden James	...	Man in Lobby (uncredited)
Frank Jaquet	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Si Jenks	...	Hillbilly (uncredited)
Jerry Jerome	...	Confederate Soldier (uncredited)
Jack Kenny	...	Confederate Soldier (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Heckler (uncredited)
James Kirkwood	...	Senator (uncredited)
Louis Mason	...	Hillbilly (uncredited)
Eric Mayne	...	Senate Spectator (uncredited)
Leila McIntyre	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Ivan Miller	...	Delegate (uncredited)
Alberto Morin	...	Clemenceau (uncredited)
Ferdinand Munier	...	Man in Lobby (uncredited)
Patsy Nash	...	Amy (uncredited)
Jack Norton	...	Drunk (uncredited)
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Robinson (uncredited)
Pat O'Malley	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Deputy (uncredited)
Lee Prather	...	Heckler (uncredited)
Charles Ray	...	Senator (uncredited)
Bert Roach	...	Drunk (uncredited)
William Roberts	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Dewey Robinson	...	Guard (uncredited)
Ruth Robinson	...	Woman at Trial (uncredited)
Henry Roquemore	...	Clerk with Newspapers (uncredited)
Syd Saylor	...	Rat-Faced Man (uncredited)
Hugh Sothern	...	Senator (uncredited)
Arthur Space	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Bob Stebbins	...	Bellboy (uncredited)
Francis Stevens	...	Admiral (uncredited)
Carl Stockdale	...	Man in Shop (uncredited)
Harry Strang	...	Heckler (uncredited)
Ludwig Stössel	...	Austrian Ambassador (uncredited)
Henry Sylvester	...	Man in Shop (uncredited)
Ray Teal	...	Sergeant at Arms (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan	...	Reporter (uncredited)
James Warren	...	James Patterson (uncredited)
Gayne Whitman	...	Man at Trial (uncredited)
Will Wright	...	Alderman (uncredited)
Jack Zeller	...	Photographer (uncredited)

Directed by
William Dieterle

Writing credits
Milton Gunzburg		(story) and
Alvin Meyers		(story)
John L. Balderston		(screenplay) and
Wells Root		(screenplay)

Produced by
J. Walter Ruben	....	producer
Irving Asher	....	producer (uncredited)
Stanley Briggs	....	assistant producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Herbert Stothart

Cinematography by
Harold Rosson

Film Editing by
Robert Kern		(as Robert J. Kern)

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Lon Anthony		(costumes: men)

Makeup Department
Jack Dawn	....	makeup designer

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Al Shenberg	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Malcolm Brown	....	associate art director
Hugh Hunt	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Special Effects by
Warren Newcombe	....	special effects

Stunts
Allen Pomeroy	....	stunts (uncredited)
Duke York	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Daniele Amfitheatrof	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Murray Cutter	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Sloan Nibley	....	technical advisor
Carl 'Major' Roup	....	script clerk (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1942) (USA) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incporated)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #8802) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

There was a protest from some sectors that the film distorted the life of Thaddeus Stevens (who initiated the impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson). Additional filming occurred in October 1942, but it is not known if it was because of these protests. One line in the script (Stevens referring to Lincoln as "the old ape") was eliminated. Still, the film treats Johnson much more favorably than it does Stevens.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The film erroneously portrays some historical aspects of Johnson's impeachment. The decisive vote against removing the President from office was cast not by an ailing Senator, brought into the chamber at the last minute, who has a sudden change of heart, but by a Republican Senator from Kansas, Edmund Ross, who believed the impeachment articles against Johnson were trumped-up political charges without merit. Also, the name of the Senator who would have succeeded Johnson had he been removed from office was Ben Wade, not "Jim Waters" as named in the movie.

Quotes:

Jefferson Davis:I must pronounce our solemn farewell. Under these circumstances, of course, my functions - and those of my colleagues - terminate here. We but tread in the path of our fathers when we proclaim our independence - and take the hazard, putting our trust in God, and in our own firm hearts - and strong arms - we will vindicate the right as best we may.
[looking slowly around the room]
Jefferson Davis:I see now around me some with whom I have served long; there have been points of collision. For whatever offense I have given, I ask forgiveness. Of whatever of offense there has been to me, I leave here. I carry with me no hostile remembrance. I go hence unencumbered of the remembrance of injury received, and having discharged the duty of making the only reparation in my power for any injury offered.
[...]

Soundtrack:

Battle Hymn of the Republic

Typical MGM historical melodrama.....well-acted, yet inaccurate

Unfortunately, I almost didn't make it through the first thirty minutes set in Tennessee, complete with a Marjorie Main variation of her "Ma Kettle" schtick. The town of Greeneville actually has some beautiful colonial architecture, is NOT near Nashville, and was not a backwoods mud pit in the mid-1800s - it is the second oldest town in the state, and was the capital of the former State of Franklin. (Johnson's home and tailor shop are standing today, as museums, and part of the National Park Service. A web site provides a history, and photos.) 30s/40s Hollywood would always "whitewash" history, except apparently, when it came to small towns in the South....then they'd falsely exaggerate the yahoo image for "atmosphere."

The final impeachment proceeding scenario is indeed rousing, but loses it's punch when one knows it is a fabrication. I usually prefer my history lessons to come from books or documentaries, although the latter can obviously be as biased as a narrative film.

"Senator" Johnson's final scene in the film occurred a mere six months before his death in East Tennessee. (Interestingly, the guest home in Carter County where he took ill, later became part of a roadside tourist trap in the 50s, but has recently been sold for relocation, and one hopes, restoration.)

Regardless, Heflin is great, as is the always reliable Barrymore. Worth a viewing, IF you learn the actual facts beforehand.